As business pundits became aware of the amazing varieties of electronic commerce fostered by the Internet and World Wide Web, these pundits spread dire predictions of the death of the so-called “brick-and-mortar” stores. But ordinary computer users, possibly unaware of these predictions, found new ways to incorporate on-line searching into old-fashioned shopping habits.
Now shoppers may include on-line searches prior to making an “off-line” shopping trip to a local retailer. These shoppers use on-line searches to hunt for store directions, hours of operation, and user reviews of the retail experience. These shoppers often also use on-line searches to gather information regarding target products or services. Unfortunately, many shoppers waste time and resources in an attempt to search for retailers by products sold or services provided, as the search results fail to connect the seller, the product or the service, and the location in a meaningful fashion.
For example, a shopper may desire to use a search engine to locate local establishments that sell Viking-brand cooking ranges, in what may be called a ‘buy near me’ search. However, a search performed by a standard search engine using the search terms “viking” and “range” may locate an odd assortment of establishments that retail costumes, sell ice cream, or repair appliances. These establishments may have little or no physical proximity to the shopper. The shopper must then weed through search results of dubious value.
The approaches described in this section are approaches that could be pursued, but not necessarily approaches that have been previously conceived or pursued. Therefore, unless otherwise indicated, it should not be assumed that any of the approaches described in this section qualify as prior art merely by virtue of their inclusion in this section.